Multifactorial environmental and ecological gradients from hydrology and land-use reflect coordinated plankton–organic pollutant spatial dynamics in coastal ecosystems
Frank Paolo Jay B. Albarico, Chiu-Wen Chen, Cheng-Di Dong
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems are shaped by multifactorial gradients arising from hydrological regimes and land-use pressures, which orchestrate plankton biogeography and pollutant dynamics across spatial scales. However, the links between environmental forcing, plankton community structure, and organic pollutant bioaccumulation remain poorly understood in marine ecosystems. In this study, we explored how hydrology and land use together influence plankton communities and the accumulation of organic pollutants along 29 stations on Taiwan’s southwestern coast. Integrating physicochemical parameters, plankton assemblages, and compound-specific pollutant profiles (PAHs: 684 ± 987 ng/g, PAEs: 60,373 ± 30,376 ng/g, APs: 2,689 ± 1,561 ng/g) revealed coordinated ecological–chemical interactions. Univariate and multivariate analyses—including cluster analysis, exploratory factor analysis, network analysis, redundancy analysis, and canonical correspondence analysis—revealed significant (p < 0.05) environmental and ecological gradients between northern and southern coasts. We identify two distinct ecological regimes: (1) hydrologically influenced northern sites dominated by Thalassiosira and crustacean larvae and eggs, exhibiting lower pollutant loads and nutrient-driven plankton stability; and (2) anthropogenically impacted southern sites characterized by Chaetoceros, copepods, and elevated pollutant bioaccumulation. Compound-specific drivers revealed that PAEs were modulated by zooplankton abundance and TN, APs by phytoplankton traits and TP, and PAHs by plankton biomass and SiO₂. These findings demonstrate that pollutant uptake is not merely concentration-dependent but emerges from ecological trait–nutrient–pollutant coupling shaped by environmental gradients in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Overall, our findings advance ecological understanding of pollutant–plankton interactions and provide a foundation for developing bioindicator-based strategies to monitor and mitigate coastal pollution, while supporting urban planning in the anthropocene.
期刊介绍:
Water Research, along with its open access companion journal Water Research X, serves as a platform for publishing original research papers covering various aspects of the science and technology related to the anthropogenic water cycle, water quality, and its management worldwide. The audience targeted by the journal comprises biologists, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, limnologists, and microbiologists. The scope of the journal include:
•Treatment processes for water and wastewaters (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and on-site treatment), including resource recovery and residuals management;
•Urban hydrology including sewer systems, stormwater management, and green infrastructure;
•Drinking water treatment and distribution;
•Potable and non-potable water reuse;
•Sanitation, public health, and risk assessment;
•Anaerobic digestion, solid and hazardous waste management, including source characterization and the effects and control of leachates and gaseous emissions;
•Contaminants (chemical, microbial, anthropogenic particles such as nanoparticles or microplastics) and related water quality sensing, monitoring, fate, and assessment;
•Anthropogenic impacts on inland, tidal, coastal and urban waters, focusing on surface and ground waters, and point and non-point sources of pollution;
•Environmental restoration, linked to surface water, groundwater and groundwater remediation;
•Analysis of the interfaces between sediments and water, and between water and atmosphere, focusing specifically on anthropogenic impacts;
•Mathematical modelling, systems analysis, machine learning, and beneficial use of big data related to the anthropogenic water cycle;
•Socio-economic, policy, and regulations studies.